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“In this business, they say: sports sell subscriptions, entertainment prevents cancellations,” says François Godard. He is an analyst for the sports rights market and advises companies like DAZN and Sky, as well as the German Football League (DFL). Pay TV without sports rights is difficult, he says. In an industry where everything is now available on demand, a product that still consists primarily of live events is very valuable. Events that no one wants to miss. Sports are the perfect bait for subscribers.

“Netflix remains ruthlessly analytical and laser focused on engagement in the games space, and doesn’t have arbitrary guardrails for what is on or off platform,” said Enders Analysis head of media technology and games Gareth Sutcliffe in an interview with GamesBeat. “Roblox activations will remain in the games and marketing portfolio for some time, as it’s more than a quick execution sandbox given its current high growth trajectory. The brand support tools Roblox is bringing online combined with the overall UGC model are substantively complementary rather than competitive.”

The U.K.-based subscription research company Enders Analysis investigated the question in a new cheekily titled report, "A big apple, uneven bites."

The New York Times and Financial Times — both with bustling subscription businesses — are notably absent from Apple News.  Apple News+ subscriptions are “straightforwardly additive” for news businesses that don’t already have “large, mature owned-and-operated subscription businesses,” the Enders report argues.

For more traffic-dependent publishers, Apple News can provide “a rare buffer in a volatile environment,” the report says. “As discovery via search becomes less reliable, millions of users now encounter premium journalism through a service they already pay for, lowering friction and reinforcing Apple News as a default entry point.”

The move comes as the UK’s “altnet” fibre sector, which has sought to take on established providers such as BT, slashes costs as many players face higher interest rates and intense competition. CityFibre had £3.7bn of net debt as of 2025 while Enders Analysis estimates the industry has more than £9bn of net debt.

So is it worth the effort? A report on Apple News in the UK from subscription research service Enders Analysis suggests the answer varies sharply between different types of publisher—but for some, it can offer strong visibility, some revenue and, if leveraged right, even subscriber acquisition.

Apple News+ is the paid version of Apple News, which comes pre-installed on Apple devices and provides users with in-app access to certain paywalled content from partner publishers. Enders estimates 1.7 million people in the UK have access to Apple News+, most of them through the bundled “Apple One” subscription offer. If correct, that would mean Apple News+ has more subscribers than any individual news brand in the UK.

Enders suggested UK Apple News+ generates subscription revenue above £100 million ($136 million) annually, of which half is distributed to partner publishers, distributed proportionate to the share of clicks they generate within the platform.

”Even though their platform has been incredibly successful, it doesn’t have that immediacy and urgency around the content which traditionally TV has thrived on,” says Tom Harrington, head of television at Enders Analysis.

But Harrington says that for Netflix, it’s not clear that Skyscraper Live will drive an increase in subscriptions. He says the streamer is just trying to stop current subscribers leaving.

“For a subscription service, it’s always a battle to retain the people you have. If there’s awareness of this sort of event, and they have more events like this,” he said, “theoretically that makes them a little bit more future-proof when it comes to churn.”

Looks as though the BBC is abandoning public service broadcasting, right? Well, Abi Watson, Head of Publishing at Enders Analysis, believes otherwise, who told us, “It has an obligation to produce creative, high-quality, distinctive content – and that isn’t platform-specific, which does involve the BBC experimenting with new formats, not just recycling linear TV for digital spaces.”

That aside, the other determining factor for the BBC's decision to go ham on digital viewing rests on shifting viewing habits, which Watson also touched on. “Second, it has a duty to reach audiences where they actually are. Viewing habits have shifted materially: around 10% of TV-set viewing in the UK now goes to YouTube, and for under-35s, it’s closer to a quarter," she added.